Hitherto and Henceforth!

Text: Isaiah 63:7-9
Theme: “Hitherto and Henceforth”
1st Sunday After Christmas
December 26, 2010
First Presbyterian Church
Denton, Texas
The Rev. Paul R. Dunklau

+In the Name of Jesus+

7 I will tell of the kindnesses of the LORD,
the deeds for which he is to be praised,
according to all the LORD has done for us—
yes, the many good things
he has done for Israel,
according to his compassion and many kindnesses.
8 He said, “Surely they are my people,
children who will be true to me”;
and so he became their Savior.
9 In all their distress he too was distressed,
and the angel of his presence saved them.[a]
In his love and mercy he redeemed them;
he lifted them up and carried them
all the days of old.

There seems to be just as much a mad rush to get away from Christmas as it is to get to it. Even the church year calendar gets into the act. This Sunday is rather sadly called “The First Sunday after Christmas.” Oh, so I guess Christmas is over; it’s done; call off any impulse to further happiness; unplug the lights; down with the tree; it was fun while it lasted, and now it’s back to the 9 to 5 and the daily grind.

Not so fast! Yes, today is the first Sunday after Christmas Day, but it’s only the second day in the twelve days of Christmas! You mean, there’s more celebrating to do? Yes, that’s exactly what I mean. “On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me a partridge in a pear tree. On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.” On it goes. After the twelve days of Christmas are over, the “true love” has a whole bunch of birds! Do the math.

Isaiah the prophet, in today’s Old Testament reading, does not speak of birds or drummers drumming, pipers piping, or maids a’milking. But we do hear of kindnesses. “I will tell of the kindness of the Lord,” says Isaiah, “yes…the many good things He has done.” Thus, a good way to enjoy the twelve days of Christmas would be to get out your journal and write down a gratitude list. You may be surprised at how therapeutic such an exercise can be.

I know of an individual who was once in a group therapy session at a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center. The counselor asked him to write down on a legal pad one hundred things he was angry at his loved one about. At first, he balked. There was no way he could come up with one hundred different instances of anger. But the counselor urged him on. “Get specific,” said the counselor. The man did – and he ended up with well over one hundred instances. A few therapy sessions later, the counselor asked the man to read aloud the one hundred or so items on the anger list. The man began, and he only made it a little way before he began to cry. For the first time, he “owned”, as they say, his emotions.

Contrast with a gratitude list. What are the kindnesses that you have been on the receiving end of? Do the hard work – and it is hard work! Our world instills in us – like light bulb to a socket – not a sense of gratitude for kindnesses extended but rather a senseof entitlement. We feel as though we’re entitled to the good things that come our way. We might even say that we’ve earned the right to have kindnesses extended to us. It’s only fair! But this is not a fairness list. It’s a gratitude list. Write down the kindnesses. See if you can get to one hundred. Read them aloud. Caution: your eyes may fill with tears – of gratitude and joy.

One the kindnesses of the Lord for which I am grateful is that our FPC family is extended this morning. Today, we welcome Rodney and Amanda and Tristan and baby Noah to our little flock here. They, too, are in on the covenant with us. One of the Lord’s kindnesses to me is that the first baptisms I perform as minister of Word and Sacrament here are those of my grandsons. Our Lord flat-out rocks!

The title of today’s message is “Hitherto and Henceforth.” Both words are rarely used and pretty much out of circulation. But when put together, it does have a nice ring to it: “Hitherto and Henceforth”!

“Hitherto” means, quite simply, up to this point. “Henceforth” means – again, quite simply – from now on or from this time forward. At this very moment, we are smack dab in the middle of hitherto and henceforth. Every moment we live, we are set firmly in the middle of hitherto and henceforth.

The hymn-writer Amilie Juliane, who saw many loved ones die during the Thirty Years War on the European continent, wrote:

The Lord hath helped me hitherto by His surpassing favor;
His mercies every morn were new, His kindness did not waver.
God hitherto hath been my Guide, hath pleasures hitherto supplied,
And hitherto hath helped.

Help me henceforth, O God of grace, help me on each occasion,
Help me in each and every place, help me through Jesus’ Passion;
Help me in life and death, O God, help me through Jesus’ dying blood;
Help me as Thou has helped me.

This sounds like a plan for the twelve days of Christmas: to count up the kindnesses that have brought us hitherto – up to this point, and to learn to count on the continuing help of the Lord henceforth.

There are two final items from the Isaiah passage. First, the kindnesses that we have received are “according” – that’s the word Isaiah used – to the kindness and compassion of God. Kindness and compassion are parts of God’s nature. If people are not thinking of God as some sort of human construct, they usually construe God to be a kind of cosmic kill-joy or buzz-kill. Nothing could be further from the truth. Everything our Lord does is geared toward kindness and compassion.

Second, Isaiah says that it was the “presence” of the Lord that saved the people. This is the indestructible truth of Christmas, and it’s worthy of the highest place on our gratitude list: God is present for whoever we are, wherever we are, wherever we’ve been, wherever we’re going. In the newborn baby Jesus, God is as close as our skin. And when He grew up and faced the looming specter of the cross, He did run away and hide, or remove His presence, or demand what he was entitled to. But, for our sakes, He endured it all. And, with His resurrection, His mandate and promise are sure and certain: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always to the very end of the age.” God is with us – hitherto and henceforth. Amen.